Merry Christmas Darling
by Phoenix-Talon
Summary: Tokyo Majin Aoi goes to Kyouichi's place for Christmas Eve. Pure fluff, obvious KyouichiAoi, little bit DaigoKomaki. Enjoy!


**AN: Hello! Phoenix here. Just wanted to let you know a few things before you start reading. First of all, we learn about Kyouichi's backstory in the second season, meaning I watched it Japanese. Without subtitles. Yeah, I'm that desperate. :-D I know he lives with three drag queens, a 'Madam' of their little burlesque, and this guy who can beat up people using just a magazine. Impressive. Basically what that all means is I have no idea what the drag queens' names are, except maybe one, and I found out his/her name too late. So I made up their names. Kyouichi also might be a little OOC, but just blame it on his ever growing feelings for Aoi. Okay? And one more thing, this is pure fluff. Don't take it too seriously. I wrote it cuz I love Christmas and I love this ship. So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Tokyo Majin. Or Karen Carpenter's songs, or It's a Wonderful Life. I do own…wait…I don't have an OC in this…huh. Whaddayaknow. This is my first fanfiction without an OC. LOL**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Damn it," Kyouichi swore. "It's snowing."

And so it was. The clouds had been a pale pasty gray all day, subtly hinting to the inevitability of the coming snow. But honestly, did it have to snow right as Kyouichi started his trek home?

Tatsuma, who had joined Kyouichi from the Ramen Hut, peered at the sky interestedly. He, as usual, had nothing to say on the matter.

"It'll never stick," Kyouichi said stubbornly. But the snowflakes resolutely fell. Komaki and Daigo exited the Ramen Hut as well. "Oh, it's snowing," Komaki exclaimed. "Pretty thickly, too. Isn't it beautiful, Daigo?"

Kyouichi snorted. Ever since Komaki and Daigo had officially started going out, they had become annoyingly lovey-dovey. It made Kyouichi nauseous.

"Aoi!" Komaki called. "Come look! It's snowing!"

Aoi came out, smiling as she gazed at the night sky. "Oh, it's so gorgeous," She sighed. "I love snow. I wonder if it will be a white Christmas."

"I hope so," Komaki agreed. "Daigo and I are going to a Christmas Eve concert. Any of you want to come? We have extra tickets."

"Can't," Kyouichi said breezily. "Got plans."

A lie, of course. But Kyouichi had no intention of being forced to sit through some Ayumi Hamasaki concert watching Daigo and Komaki cuddle all night. Bleck. Give him ACID any day.

"Maybe," Aoi said thoughtfully. "But I don't know."

"I'll go," Tatsuma said good-naturedly. "You sure you don't want to go, Kyouichi?"

"Busy," Kyouichi airily lied again. He wasn't a big fan of Christmas anyway.

"Well, I gotta get home," Komaki commented, checking her watch. "See you all later. Merry Christmas!"

"I'll walk you home," Daigo said eagerly, causing Kyouichi to roll his eyes again. Like a freakin' puppy. It was disgusting.

"G'night," Tatsuma said to them ally, walking down the street. Kyouichi waved to him carelessly and started on his way. It was getting colder.

"Um..."

Kyouichi stopped and turned. Aoi stood behind him, looking hesitant.

"Yeah?" He said brusquely.

"I...well..."

"Spit it out," He said impatiently, stamping his feet to shake the slush off. He didn't want to be out here all night.

"I...have a...Christmas present for you," Aoi said shyly.

Kyouichi blinked. Whatever he expected Aoi to say, it wasn't that. Aoi looked at him cautiously, almost as if waiting for his permission.

"You didn't have to do that," He said gruffly.

"I know," Aoi admitted. "But I love giving Christmas gifts. And...well, here." She handed him a small gift-wrapped package.

Kyouichi swallowed as he looked at the gift. He ripped the paper off and opened the box. Inside was a pair of black leather gloves.

"Uh...thanks," He said awkwardly. Kyouichi hadn't bothered to get anyone anything for Christmas, assuming it wouldn't be an issue. Now he felt like an idiot.

"I wasn't sure what to get you," Aoi said in a rush, but smiling. She shuffled slightly in one spot, placing her hands inside her white coat. "I hope you like it."

"It's...great, thanks," Kyouichi said, slipping them on. They felt durable, and weren't slick at all. That was good, because there wasn't anything worse that Kyouichi hated than his hands slipping up and down his katana in the midst of a fight.

"Merry Christmas," Aoi said cheerfully. "I'll...see you later, then."

"Right..." Kyouichi nodded. He watched Aoi turn and start to walk down the sidewalk.

"Aoi!"

Aoi turned and looked at him.

The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. "You wanna come to my place for dinner Christmas Eve?"

As soon as Kyouichi had uttered the words, he regretted it. She was a freakin' princess, why the hell would she want to come to his house? She probably had some fancy shindig planned with a bunch of other rich bastards, why had he opened his stupid, fat mouth—

"Okay!"

Kyouichi started. Aoi smiled happily, her cheeks red, though from pleasure or the cold, Kyouichi couldn't tell. "I'm not exactly sure where you live, though," She added.

"I'll pick you up around seven," Kyouichi said without thinking. Damn it, WHY did that keep happening?"

"All right," She said sincerely. "I'll see you then!"

And with that, she disappeared into the snowy night.

This was definitely a problem.

XXXXXXX

"I'm guessing she doesn't know you live at a burlesque with a bunch of drag queens," Tatsuma commented when Kyouichi told him.

"Not exactly," Kyouichi muttered.

"You didn't tell her?"

"Gimme a break! If I'd told her, she probably would--"

"I guess you really want her to come," Tatsuma finished for him, serenely slurping up his ramen.

It was lucky the Ramen Hut was dimly lit, otherwise Tatsuma would've seen Kyouichi flush.

"Don't be an idiot," Kyouichi snarled. "I don't give a shit whether her Royal Highness comes or not."

"Then why'd you ask her?" Tatsuma questioned innocently.

Kyouichi ran his fingers through his hair impatiently. "I dunno," He said wildly. "It was a spur of the moment thing, I wasn't thinking. She'd given me the gloves, and I hadn't gotten her anything, and I don't know, I just--" Kyouichi spluttered off into oblivion.

Tatsuma calmly finished off the last of his ramen. "You told your aunts, right?" Tatsuma asked, referring to the drag queens that'd raised Kyouichi, who called themselves his aunts.

"I told them I was bringing someone," Kyouichi said darkly. "But knowing them, they'll think--they won't expect--"

They would expect another stripper or ghetto queen, certainly not the sweet Aoi Misato from her well-to-do family.

"Maybe I'll call her, tell her I'm sick of something," Kyouichi considered.

"I wouldn't," Tatsuma said. "I talked to her this morning--she's really looking forward to it. It would really disappoint her. And she might come over to bring you some soup or something."

"Damn it," Kyouichi swore, because this was exactly the kind of thing Aoi would do. "Guess I'm stuck. Shit."

Tatsuma began to sip his strawberry milk. "It's almost six-thirty," He pointed out. "Might want to get a move on, if you're picking her up."

Kyouichi gave another groan. "Yeah, I'll see you later," He grumbled standing up. He paid for his ramen and left the Ramen Hut.

He probably shouldn't have eaten so close to dinner. But he was stressed, and nothing helped stress like a bowl of steaming ramen. And maybe some hot sake. It had been tempting to get extremely drunk, but Kyouichi had resisted the urge. Plus Tatsuma wouldn't let him order any. Sighing, he took off down the street to Aoi's house.

XXXXXX

Tatsuma was right, Aoi was looking forward to Christmas Eve. It had been unexpected, his invitation. Wonderfully unexpected. Aoi had known it was too much to hope for that he might actually get her a gift, so his invitation to dinner had been a happy surprise.

Aoi had dressed carefully, wearing a wine red V-neck sweater and a long khaki skirt. It hadn't stopped snowing since last night, so she wore black boots and her white pea coat.

Aoi glanced at the clock. The time was 6:40. She shivered slightly, smiling at herself. She recalled the first time she admitted to Komaki that she had a small crush on Kyouichi.

"Oh no," Komaki said, looking appalled. "Not HIM."

In truth, Komaki had a point. Kyouichi was pretty much every parent's worst nightmare. He was a rude, tough, delinquent, to put it mildly. In fact, Aoi had first met him when he was actually mugging some poor man. He had been terribly cruel to her in the beginning, when they'd first started out as a team.

But there were those moments. Aoi didn't remember it, but Komaki had related to her when she had had her mind stolen. How when they'd all come to rescue her, Kyouichi had bellowed,

"Misato doesn't belong to anyone. LET HER GO, DUMBASS!"

She also recalled when they'd been fighting the possessed suicidal girl, when the roof began to cave in. Kyouichi had scooped her up bridal style to avoid her getting crushed. Whoops. That had been embarrassing to say the least, especially since Aoi had been determined to prove herself to the rest of them. She also remembered how utterly furious he'd become when he'd believed that Kisaragi-kun was trying to kill her.

He had many redeeming qualities, Aoi thought to herself. He isn't perfect. He tries to come off like he doesn't care about anyone but himself. But I know better. He cares about all of us, and about protecting the city.

A tiny niggling thought appeared at the surface of Aoi's mind. He cares about you...

Aoi shook her head briskly. Enough, enough, she didn't want to start hoping or daydreaming. She glanced at the clock again. It was 6:58.

The doorbell rang. Aoi leaped up and started to the porch.

Kisaragi-kun had beaten her there. He was currently glaring at Kyouichi, something akin to loathing etched in his features, but it was subtly masked.

There was no such mask on Kyouichi's face. Kyouichi had always despised the arrogant servant of the Misato family, and since the moment where Kisaragi had almost killed Aoi, the hatred had grown tenfold.

Aoi decided she'd better step in before the two of them whipped out their katanas and start battling to the death.

"Good evening," She greeted Kyouichi smiling. She gently laid an arm on Kisaragi-kun's shoulder.

"Kisaragi-kun," She said sweetly. "Would you please inform my mother that I will be back in a few hours?"

Kisaragi's eyes flickered between Aoi and Kyouichi. He closed his eyes and nodded.

"Thank you," She said to him. "Merry Christmas!" She slid by him and exited her house.

Kyouichi shot one last look of loathing at Kisaragi and the two of them began their walk. They headed to the subway and boarded there.

Kyouichi was mostly quiet. Aoi glanced at him, wondering how she should start a conversation. The awkward silence was driving her mad.

"Are...your parents all right with me coming over?" She asked hesitantly.

Kyouichi winced, and Aoi wondered if it had been the wrong thing to say.

"Look Misato," Kyouichi said finally. "I don't exactly live with my parents. My dad died when I was little and I don't know where my mom is."

Aoi gasped. "I'm so sorry," She said, unconsciously touching his arm.

Kyouichi shrugged. "Not your fault," He cleared his throat. "Anyway, when I was about eight, this old guy took me in. Taught me how to fight. And that's where I live." Kyouichi purposely left out the part about the 'old guy' running a raunchy burlesque full of drag queens.

Aoi nodded. "I see," She said.

The train stopped and they got off. Aoi glanced about her. They were probably in the worst part of Tokyo, especially for a seventeen-year-old girl. It was also getting darker. Kyouichi breezily trotted down the street.

Their presence was not going unnoticed, however. Aoi was aware of several men watching her lewdly. She stepped closer to Kyouichi.

"Yo! Hooray!" Someone bellowed.

Kyouichi turned and Aoi saw a man walk up. He was smoking a cigarette, and Aoi disliked the way he sized her up.

"Who's the bird?" He asked, gesturing with his cigarette towards Aoi.

Kyouichi's eyes narrowed. "Screw off, Namura," He said coldly.

"Ooh, protective," Namura finished his cigarette and tossed it on the ground. "Definitely not like you, Houraiji. I'd keep a close eye on her, if I were you."

"I don't need to," Kyouichi snapped. "Cuz if you touch her, she'll slam you against that wall and break your sorry neck. And then I'll get my fun."

Namura sneered and walked away. Aoi watched him disappear, along with several of his cohorts. She let out a small sigh of relief.

Kyouichi heard and glanced at her. "Don't tell me you were afraid of that guy," He accused.

Aoi smiled, knowing that Kyouichi was recalling the time she actually had slammed a guy who'd been harassing a young girl against a brick wall.

"Just because I can," She said lightly. "Doesn't mean I like to."

Kyouichi snorted and stopped. "Well...this is it," he said.

Aoi glanced up. A glaring, gaudily colorful burlesque stood before her. She blinked. Kyouichi was looking at her, waiting for her to say something. She wasn't quite sure what to say.

Kyouichi cleared his throat. "The guy who took me in owns a burlesque," He said, pointing unnecessarily at the building.

Aoi had the absurd urge to giggle. This explained so much about Kyouichi. "I see," she said smiling, but refusing to let herself laugh, for fear of offending Kyouichi.

Kyouichi stared at Aoi. She wasn't running away. She wasn't making fun of him. She was standing there waiting for him to escort her inside. Could this day get any weirder?

He supposed not. He cleared his throat and the two of them started up the steps. Kyouichi touched the doorknob. He supposed it would be too much to hope that his 'aunts' had decided to go out for the evening. He turned the doorknob and stepped inside.

"I'm home!" He shouted, hoping to God that no one was home. Maybe he could just swiftly walk Aoi through without them seeing—

"KYO-CHAN!"

Too late.

His three 'aunts' charged towards him, all chattering excitedly.

"We're so glad you decided to come home for Christmas Eve!" Kura cried out tearfully.

"We made some yaki-soba, and we have chicken teriyaki," Koto sang.

"And we'll watch some Christmas movies, and it will be wonderful!" Hoshiko bawled.

Kyouichi winced. "Don't call me Kyo-chan," He growled. He glanced at Aoi, who was delicately covering her mouth.

Aoi wasn't doing it out of politeness, or even surprise at the three drag queens. She actually was trying very hard not to laugh at Kyouichi's obvious embarrassment. So even delinquents could get embarrassed.

"Aoi," Kyouichi said. "This is Kura," He pointed at a Hercules-esque sized figure wearing a red dress and had fakely tanned skin and dyed blonde hair.

"That's Koto," He pointed to a fat Buddha-esque drag queen with white face paint and short black hair, holding a cigarette.

"And that's Hoshiko," He said, singling out a rake-thin drag queen, who in fact had a buzz cut, but had plenty of make-up to make up for the fact.

The three drag queens gazed at Aoi and seemed to be as surprised as she was. "This is the guest you decided to bring home?" Koto screeched.

Aoi blinked. Kura socked Koto. "Don't be rude," Kura said, in a far more delicate and pretty voice that suited her/his muscular body. "So this is Aoi?"

Kyouichi grudgingly nodded. Aoi smiled and said, "Pleased to meet you!"

All three 'aunts' fell in love at once.

"What a sweet girl!" Kura exclaimed snatching her up in a hug. Aoi looked momentarily stunned.

"Are you hungry?" Koto demanded. "Kyo-chan probably didn't get you anything to eat on the way, did he?" She/he threw an angry look at Kyouichi, who was scowling. "What would you like?"

"I love your sweater!" Hoshiko hung on to Aoi. "You have such lovely taste! She's most certainly a keeper, Kyo-chan!" She/he added for his benefit.

Kyouichi flushed. "Shut up," He snarled. "And stop calling me Kyo-chan."

Aoi let loose a giggle.

XXXXXX

Kyouichi was in shock. Aoi was...was..._getting along_ with his 'aunts.' It was insane. I wasn't possible.

It was...happening.

They were all sitting on the couch, eating yaki-soba. Aoi looked like she was honestly enjoying herself. Kyouichi felt the corners of his mouth tilt. She was getting along with the only family he knew.

Something grabbed his ear and tugged. Hard.

"What the hell?" He snapped.

It was Madam, who ran the burlesque along with the old guy. She frowned at him. "That's the girl who gave you those gloves, yes?" She demanded.

"Yeah," Kyouichi yelped, trying to escape her claws.

"And did you give her anything?"

"No," Kyouichi said, fighting her off.

Madam smacked him upside the head. "We raised you better than that!" She snarled. She fumbled with an oversized bag. "Here's some money. Go and get her something. NOW!"

"All right, all right!" Kyouichi yelled, taking the money. He gave a withering glare to Madam, pocketed the money, and then went to Aoi.

"I'm going to run off for a bit," He said to her. "I'll be back in like, an hour or something."

"Is something wrong?" Aoi asked worriedly. Kyouichi hated her looking worried like that.

"No, nothing's wrong. Quit with the puppy-dog eyes, you look ridiculous," He informed her. Immediately, all three of his 'aunts' took her side.

"Her eyes are LOVELY, don't you insult her!" Koto bristled.

"Poor Kyo-chan, he just doesn't know how to express his feelings," Kura told Aoi sympathetically.

"Exactly," Hoshiko agreed. "In fact, in Kyo-chan's words, that means he can't stand you looking all sad and--"

"SHUT UP!" Kyouichi yelled. He glared at the four of them and stomped out the door. As the door slammed behind him, Hoshiko said brightly,

"He must really like you!"

XXXXXXX

It was _still_ snowing. Kyouichi muttered to himself darkly, cursing Madam. What was still open on Christmas Eve? How was he supposed to get something 'nice' for Aoi when the stores were closing?

Kyouichi growled and grumbled and groaned and a lot of other gr-words. He wandered around town, looking through various windows. He paused at a likely-looking place, and went in.

It was a jewelry store. The storekeepers looked at Kyouichi suspiciously. He ignored them and moseyed about, looking at each piece of expensive jewelry. Most of the pieces he saw were tacky and gaudy, fit for the usual stripper or ghetto queen, but not for Aoi. She hardly ever wore jewelry anyway. This was pointless!

He then stopped, as something caught his eye. It was a necklace, with a silver chain and a glass snowflake at the end. It was simple and unadorned, but so pretty it made the viewer take in its elegant simplicity.

Kyouichi thought. He remembered how Aoi had talked about how she loved snow. The necklace also somehow reminded him of her, simple and unadorned, but really rather beautiful. Not that he would admit this to anyone, let alone himself.

He picked up the necklace, considering. Finally, he sighed and walked over to the counter, where the owner was coolly watching him carefully.

"Oy! I'll take this."

XXXXXX

When Kyouichi returned, he soon realized that it was a lot quieter than it had been. Hoshiko was passed out on the kitchen counter, and Kura and Koto were whispering to each other.

"What's going--" He started, and Kura and Koto then hissed at him to be quiet.

"Look," Koto said impatiently, gesturing towards the couch. Kyouichi went over and saw that Aoi was asleep.

"Doesn't she look lovely?" Kura sighed. "Like sleeping beauty."

"And Kyo-chan is her prince."

The two of them giggled and Kyouichi sent them both a death glare. They decided to vacate the premises.

Kyouichi sat on the arm of the couch. Hmph. He went to all this trouble to buy her a stupid gift and she decided to fall asleep. Perfect.

But didn't she deserve a break? After her Bodhisattva Eye nearly killed herself and them all? Kyouichi could well see why she was tired.

He'd wait. Just for a few minutes. Besides, _It's a Wonderful Life_ was on. Of course it was ending...

He waited. George Bailey cried out, "I wanna live! I wanna live! Clarence! Please God, let me live again!"

He sighed. He was getting really bored. He flicked the channel idly. It turned to Karen Carpenter, an old American singer. She was crooning, "Merry Christmas Darling".

Aoi shifted, and Kyouichi watched her open her eyes. She blinked about blearily. "I'm sorry!" She said sitting up. "We were watching something...I guess I dozed off..."

"Pff. It's no big deal." Kyouichi said crossing his arms. Karen Carpenter was still singing in the background.

"Here," He said brusquely, shoving the box towards her. Aoi looked surprised.

"What is it?" She asked, picking it up. The owner had thoughtfully wrapped it.

"What's it look like? It's a present, duh," Kyouichi snapped, really rather hating the sentimentality of the moment.

Aoi carefully began to open the box. Kyouichi pretended not to care, but he carefully watched her out of the corner of his eye.

Aoi drew out the necklace. She let out a soft gasp. "It's beautiful..." She looked at Kyouichi, blushing slightly. "Thank you." She started to put it on.

"You said you liked...snow...or whatever," Kyouichi said presently. "I only got it cuz I was in the neighborhood, and I thought...if you don't like it--"

"I love it," Aoi said clearly. It was a good thing she was having trouble putting the necklace on, otherwise she would've seen Kyouichi flush.

"Just stop," Kyouichi said finally, watching her struggle. "I'll put it on for you, okay?" He took the necklace from her. Aoi swept her hair to one side and Kyouichi placed it around her neck and did the clasp. His fingers lightly touched her neck. Aoi shivered unconsciously as his fingers slightly lingered there.

"There, it's on," Kyouichi said quietly, in a much quieter tone than Aoi expected to hear from him. She turned towards him. They locked eyes.

"It's still snowing," He said, breaking the gaze by looking away.

"I love snow," Aoi said softly, touching the glass snowflake.

"Why?" Kyouichi muttered. "All it does is slush up the streets."

Aoi stared at him as he put his arms behind his head. "Come on," She said, inspiration striking her. "We're going outside." She began to put on her coat.

"Why?" Kyouichi said, in a much more complaining tone. "It's cold out there."

"I want to show you something," Aoi said, a little more mischievously. She took his still-gloved hand and pulled him out the door.

It was completely dark, and the snow fell fast and thickly. Aoi pulled him down the steps and into a small alley.

"We are just asking to be mugged," Kyouichi commented.

"Look up!" Aoi said staring at the sky.

Kyouichi complied. He stared upwards, and watched the snow fall. The white snowflakes against the blackness of night did look nice...

"They look like stars, falling from the sky," Aoi sighed. "I love it when it snows. Whenever it snows, I always make a wish."

"Really," Kyouichi said, trying to sound as if this whole thing was rather dull. He still watched the snow falling. The comparison to the snowflakes as stars struck home. He didn't like the way the snow and Aoi watching him made him feel.

Something cold and wet hit his back. "What the hell?" He demanded turning to see Aoi laughing.

"I couldn't resist," She giggled. "I guess the snow is sticking!"

"Oh, you're dead now," Kyouichi threatened, balling up his own snowball. He flung it at Aoi. Aoi dodged and began to run, still laughing.

Kyouichi was faster than Aoi. He tackled her, and the two of them fell to the ground, the soft snow cushioning them. Aoi's face was flushed and her eyes were sparkling. Before Kyouichi even knew what he was doing, he was kissing her.

The snow still silently fell, but for both of them, it was almost as if the the world had stopped turning. Aoi's lips were cold and soft, and she hesitantly brought her hand to touch his face. He broke the kiss, looking at her eyes, and realized his 'aunts' were right, he hated seeing her sad or worried.

Aoi smiled slightly, and took his face in her hands and kissed him again. He pulled her as close as he could to her, running his hands through her soft hair. They broke apart, panting slightly.

She smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, darling."


End file.
